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Wednesday, 23 November 2016

A dozen history enthusiasts met in St Paul's Church, tonight. Kate Green from Villages in Action
chaired the discussion, and charted the areas of interest which included: the railway, the hospital, commerce and the growth of the community.

6. Ask new questions- repeat the investigative/enquiry process
from point 3 to 5

7. Reach
conclusions:think historically

Draw
on your historical knowledge to create your story /narrative / account /
explanation in the form you think
best

8. Form – decide on the
‘form’ you want to present your findings – for example

autobiography

biography

cartoon:
documentary

display
- poster - public

gossip

letter

museum
exhibition, with explanatory notice

newsletter
article [e.g. for Starcross newsletter]

novel

play

poem

short
written story

story
to tell - verbal

website:

+ Justification: Be able to explain
upon what you based the ‘history’
you have created, i.e. its know that
knowledge. Justification depends upon your know how knowledge, i.e. ‘I
know how to prove that my history [interpretation] is probably true, based
upon the evidence I drew from reliable, valid historical
sources.’

ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!! – BE AMUSED,
STIMULATED, ENRICHED

Books, the internet, photographs and documents stimulated the discussion.
Visits to the South West Film and TV Archives, the South West Heritage Trust on Sowton, and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter are planned.

Invitations will be sent for a daytime session, in January, to record Starcross stories. A title for this activity is needed. ummm... Memories of Starcross. Starcross Memories. Remembering Starcross. Starcross Reminiscences. Back to the Future. Starcross Stories. Share your Starcross Stories.

A Facebook page: Unearth Heritage Project has representatives from each community as editors.
The next meeting to Unearth Starcross's history will be on Thursday, 8th December at 7:30pm in St Paul's Church. Everyone is invited. Whether you have a Starcross story to tell, or if you are just interested in the history of Starcross, please come along.

Wednesday, 16 November 2016

A new, elegant, and spacious Inn will shortly be erected by the South Devon Railway Company, at Starcross; the present site of the Courtenay Arms being required to give more space for the Railway. The situation chosen for the new Inn is quite as eligible, where "mine host," the present worthy landlord, it is hoped, will entertain his numerous friends for many years to come in his usual excellent way.

The foundation for the new Pier at this place are proceeding very fast, which, when completed, will afford much accommodation.

The steamer to ply between Starcross and Exmouth in connection with the South Devon Railway is soon expected to arrive to be put on its trips. Visiters and all others from Exmouth and its neighbourhood will by this be greatly benefited.

The archives of every British newspaper are online, which means that anyone can do historical research. This is particularly exciting for the Villages in Action project Unearth; which aims to discover the histories of 8 Devon communities; including Starcross.

But Devon County libraries authority have not yet subscribed to this amazing resource. When they do, everyone in a library with a Devon library card will have free access.

The British NewspaperArchive is a partnership between the British Library and findmypast to
digitise up to 40 million newspaper pages from the British Library's vast
collection over the next 10 years. Access to the archive is free across 61 areas of the UK because 61 library authorities have paid a subscription. - anyone in those areas, who has a local authority library card, has free, unlimited access whenever they visit their local authority library.

Offering online access to millions of pages of British and Irish newspapers from 1708-1956, the British Newspaper Archive is a fantastic resource for everyone interested in history, and for family and local historians in particular.

Every single word of every issue has been made searchable, and thousands of extra pages are added every week."I’m actually addicted to The British Newspaper Archive.
I wake up in the middle of the night wondering… did the Victorians ever
roller skate? What did people think about Nelson’s column when it was
first unveiled? Has anyone ever attempted a tightrope walk over the
Thames? A quick search, and I get my answers. Except then I can’t
possibly go back to sleep because one search leads to another. If you’re
curious about the past, then The British Newspaper Archive is your best friend for life.”Matt Brown, Editor-at-Large of Londonist

Monday, 14 November 2016

Everyone's invited to another meet in St Paul's Church about the Villages in Action Project Unearth. Kate Green from Villages in Action will lead the discussion. What are our favourite bits of Starcross's History? Will it be our Victorians: George Pycroft, Rear Admiral Francis Godolphin Bond, Brunel or Captain George Peacock? Or will it be aspects of the railway history, such as the Atmospheric Railway, or sending violets to Covent Garden? Will wartime tales be preferred; such as The SS South Coaster and the Home Guard? Could Roman times enthuse everyone? Romans used the River Exe to get to and from Isca (Exeter). What evidence do we have about the Romans in Starcross? Will the history of the River Exe be a focus? Or will it be something else?
Please do come along if you'd like to be involved with this exciting Lottery funded project. The meeting is at 7:30pm on Wednesday 23rd November, in St Paul's.

Captain George Peacock

George Peacock's grave in St Paul's church

The late Jim Shapter's Roman amphora

from the mouth of the Exe

Mr Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Dave Grylls)

at a Starcross History meet

book: Brunel's Atmospheric Railway illus. William Dawson

Unearth - the Villages in Action project to unearth our history

Starcross home Guard

Pennyfarthing stamp for Pennyfarthing Cottage on our 2016 history trail

Saturday, 12 November 2016

On Wednesday, 9th November 2016, members were asked if they would think about helping with the search for the lost Stairs Cross. If it was destroyed by Henry VIIIth's men during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it could have been knocked into the river and could have lain there ever since. It may have then been removed to build a wall. Or, as some locals believe, there might never have been a stone cross to mark the Pratteshide (Exmouth) ferry crossing at Woolcomb's Island and so that is not the origin of the name Starcross.
Geophys technology would not work in the waterlogged estuary, so the only way to ascertain whether or not there is a Stairs Cross in the estuary in the vicinity of the ferry crossing, is to DIG. A grid would be made of the likely area, and lots of folk with spades and wellies could splash about at low tide and explore each square of the grid. This will be a summertime project.
Ashes Quay is thought to be the location of the Stairs Cross. Here a picture of Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club's new pontoon next to Ashes Quay

Kate Green from Villages in Action introduced Project Unearth in which Starcross will take part. Kate will chair another meeting about this on Wednesday 23rd November in St Paul's Church at 7:30pm. She hopes that a core group of enthusiasts will take this project on.

The
Royal Clarence Fire has been the most destructive in the recent history
of Exeter. This event is an opportunity to learn what has been lost of
historical significance
but also to discuss what has been miraculously saved. Dr Todd Gray
will outline the destruction of the Royal Clarence itself. Three
leading building specialists of Exeter (John Allan, Richard Parker &
John Thorp) will then outline the significance of the
surrounding buildings. These form an island of largely unappreciated
medieval and later structures in the heart of the city. A panel
discussion will follow.

Mosaics and Horses. Wednesday March 14th 7:30pm in St Paul's Church

The next meet of Starcross History will be on Wednesday March 14th at 7:30pm in St Paul's. No entry fee and no membership fee. PLEASE BRING A RAFFLE PRIZE. Alma Harding and Joanne Bickel will lead a Mosaic Workshop; to make mosaics to mark a Starcross History Trail. Where else could the trail go? What else could it commemorate? Add tesserae to our mosaics. Or design your own - you'll need a base for your mosaic (a piece of wood or something else), some cut tiles and some waterproof tile cement. We also invite you to make Horses from Rubbish, for our 2018 entry into the Teignmouth TRAIL.Phone Starcross 890650 to find out more and book your table.This meet will also be the AGM. Copies of our constitution and the chair's report will be available. Might there be volunteers for committee rôles?

Crowdfunding: £10,000 for St Paul's Church Bells

We have been told that the hangings that hold the bells in place are now in need of replacing. We do not have the choice of doing nothing as they will only deteriorate more over time.

We would like to commemorate the end of the First World War with the Ringing out for Peace event that will be a part of the Battle's Over: A Nation's Tribute on 11th November 2018. If we have no bells, we won't be able to!

We are a small congregation in St. Paul's and we will struggle to raise this sort of money just amongst ourselves. However, we feel that the Church is an important part of the wider community and the bells are a very tangible sign of that. Please help us to return the sound of well tuned bells back to our community.

We sell our enamel badges for £5

Buy online, at one of our events, in the Westbank charity shop in Starcross, or in Crafters, Queen St, Dawlish

Thankyou for visiting Starcross History

The Search box will find topics on here, or elsewhere on the web. Did you enjoy a particular topic? Do you have a story about Starcross to tell? Do you disagree with anything? Please join the discussion. Comments are very welcome here, or email starcross.history@gmail.com Also see Starcross News on Facebook